Conclusion 24

The Department told us that it buys the vast majority of its PPE on international markets and that it wants move from a situation where it is meeting PPE need day-by-day to having security of supply over some months.53 Given the challenges that procurement on international markets poses in terms of price and not always being at the front of the queue during a global pandemic, we asked the Department if it plans to change the way it procures PPE. The Department told us that there are decisions to be made about the resilience of its supply chains. It noted that building up domestic production is one thing it can do to make supply chains more resilient. However, it conceded that in the current crisis, although domestic production will make a contribution, there is no imminent possibility that it will replace what it needs to buy on the international markets.54 52 Qq 2, 4–8 53 Qq 4, 14 54 Qq 16–17 NHS capital expenditure and financial management 15